Applying Pervasive Technologies to Create Economic Incentives that Alter Consumer Behavior
Proceedings of Ubicomp 2009, Orlando, Florida, September 30-October 3. New York: ACM, pp. 175-184
10 Pages Posted: 21 Jan 2015
Date Written: 2009
Abstract
Economic incentives are a powerful way of shaping consumer behavior towards more commercially efficient and environmentally sustainable patterns. In this paper, we explore the idea of combining pervasive computing techniques with electronic payment systems to create activity-based microincentives. Users who consume additional resources by e.g., occupying an air-conditioned space instead of a normal space are levied additional micro-payments. In an alternative approach, consumers who choose to save resources are rewarded with micro-rebates off the price of a service. As a result, the cost of using a service corresponds more closely with the resources used, leading market mechanisms to allocate resources efficiently. A key challenge is designing incentive mechanisms that alter consumer behavior in the desired fashion. We introduce four incentive models, and present evaluation results suggesting that consumers make different decisions depending on which model is used.
Keywords: Persuasive technology, economic incentives, mobile payment, micropayments, activity-based micro-pricing, virtual currency
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